As the name implies, LoveSacs’ products aren’t like grandma’s and grandpa’s home furnishings…not that the older set wouldn’t enjoy the comfort, convenience and cheap prices. While some LoveSacs look like the cool beanbag chairs of the 70s, LoveSacs are filled with shredded DuraFoam, so they never go flat, break or leak. In fact, the company offers a double lifetime guarantee. In addition, LoveSacs come in a wide variety of sizes, styles and colors. Quality, variety and flexibility…that’s what makes LoveSacs special. Check them out at http://www.lovesac.com.
LoveSacs – Old Style Cool with a New Twist
Caring For Your Leather Couch
With the proper care, a leather couch can last 20 years or more. However, without the proper care, even a new leather couch can look old and worn out. So, the question is: What do I need to do to keep my couch looking good for many years? I have found the following tips quite helpful:
Clean your leather couch monthly. You should vacuum and dust the couch to remove any dirt monthly, or more frequently. Remove the cushions and vacuum underneath them. Wipe the leather with a cleaner specifically made for leather, such as Oakwood Leather Conditioning Cream, and treat any stains promptly. Leather scratches easily, so avoid scraping too hard.
Use a soft cloth or soft brush on pigmented leather.
The most popular type of couch leather is pigmented, also called aniline-plus leather. This type of leather is treated to make it smoother – with less scars, scratches, and marks. This type of leather has also been pre-treated to resist stains. For spills, use a soft cloth or brush, and use water or leather cleaner to remove the stain. Attend to mishaps promptly to keep them from staining permanently.
Make a mixture of one part white vinegar and two parts linseed oil to condition the leather.
Wipe it onto the leather in a circular motion with a soft, clean, white cloth. Cover the furniture completely. The furniture should be slightly damp, not soaked. This will help make your couch stain resistant.
Allow the solution to sit on the furniture overnight.
Buff the shine back on the furniture by wiping it with a soft, dry clean cloth.
Use a light touch and a circular motion to restore the full luster.
Non-Routine Cleanings
Cleaning Mildew and Mold
1. Mix equal parts rubbing alcohol and water in a spray
bottle.
2. Spray the solution on the mold or mildew.
3. Allow the solution to air dry. It may help to place a fan near
the furniture to speed the process along.
Suggestions for Other Stains
- Scrub the stained area gently with white toothpaste (not the gel kind) and a soft clean cloth. Toothpaste will remove almost any stain on leather.
- For ink stains, dab rubbing alcohol onto the stain and dry with a hair dryer set on the lowest setting.
- For newsprint stains, use aerosol hairspray on the stain and wipe it away with a soft, clean white cloth.
- Mayonnaise will remove some stains. Rub it on and leave it for a few hours before wiping off. However, don’t do this on a hot day.
Advice and Warnings
Avoid using harsh chemicals and abrasives. They will damage leather.
Lastly, position your couch out of direct sunlight to prevent fading and discoloration.
Fit to be Tied
The leather on a couch might be the first thing you notice, but the construction is equally important to comfort and durability. A sofa’s basic construction consists of three parts: frame, springs and pillows. Here are some ideas what to look for in each part.
The Frame
A top-quality couch frame should be made from a solid, knot-free hardwood, with oak, maple poplar, beech, ash and alder being the most common. You should avoid pine, plastic or laminate frames, since those will not be as strong and, consequently, not last as long. In addition, you should ask how the wood was processed. Kiln dried provides the most protection against warping and cracking during seasonal temperature and humidity changes. Next, feel the front of the frame underneath the couch. It should be at least 1-inch thick and feel heavy. The wood should be put together with wooden dowels and metal brackets or screws, not nails which can tear the fabric and split the wood.
The Springs – Types of Springs, Method of securing the springs to the frame
The springs are located below the cushions, and the method used to secure the springs to the frame significantly affects the sofa’s comfort and durability. Ideally the store will be able to show you and un-upholstered couch, so you can see the construction. Regardless which construction method you choose, make sure the wires are bent smoothly with a minimum of sharp curves which can cause the wires to break more easily or pierce the covering underneath the cushions. The wires should be S-shaped and run from the front to the back of the seat. Above all, the springs should be strong. If the store will allow it, take off the pillows and stand on the sofa to make sure it can take some abuse. Examples of spring construction include:
8 – Way Hand Tied Springs
This is an old process in which twine is tied eight ways between the springs to create the seating surface below the cushions. Nostalgia and the idea of “hand” work have kept it alive as the best sofa construction. While many 8-way hand tied sofas have been known to last 50 years, this method adds substantially to the cost of the sofa, and you might be able to achieve the same comfort and durability using other, cheaper production styles and methods. Here is a look at some excellent alternatives:
8-Way Machine Tied
Provides equally distributed amounts of strength to each tie, making it superior to the antiquated hand tied process, where some ties might be less secure, as the worker may become tired or distracted. However, like anything done by a machine, small imperfections can go undetected and diminish the quality. However, sofas made with this method will be less expensive than their hand tied counterparts.
Pirelli Webbing
With Pirelli webbing, a series of coil or sinuous springs is covered by a webbing made from jute fiber, a highly resilient material. This webbing supports the springs.
Although it has only been around for a few years, experts believe a sofa with Pirelli Webbing will last 10-20 years.
Sinuous Springs
Sinuous springs are two-dimensional “S” shaped wires that run from the front rail to the back of the seat, spaced every few inches and secured to the frame. Support wires cross laterally and provide additional stability and support. A sinuous spring construction may be preferable in some cases. For example, a sleek modern sofa sitting low to the ground is better served by sinuous spring construction since it requires less space in the frame.
Web Suspension
Web suspension is a form of seating support that may be used alone or with coil springs. Bands of webbing two to three inches wide cross the seat and back, and are tacked to the sofa frame to create a hammock-like platform for cushions. Webbing may be made of natural fibers such as jute, or man-made materials such a polypropylene. While web suspension alone is generally considered the least preferable frame suspension, there is a quality difference among web suspension sofas. High quality sofas that use web support structures are built with the use of a tensioner that securely fastens the webbing to the frames and ensures the stability of the deck.
No matter the seating support choice, your sofa should feel stable when you sit on it. Too much wiggle in the seat means that the springs are not attached well. If you choose a spring sofa, the quality and the quantity of springs are the best measure of a sofa’s construction, so compare the construction specifications before you decide.
The Cushions
Like the frame, the cushions should feel heavy. Many couches are stuffed with high resiliency foam, which compresses easily and returns to its original shape quickly. Goose down fill, while luxurious, offers minimal support and will need to be fluffed. A better choice is a combination down-wrapped foam core, which gives you the best of both worlds – the softness of down and the firmness of foam. High density polyurethane foam is the most common cushion filler. The higher the foam density, the firmer the cushion will be. Foam can be wrapped in down, synthetic-fiber (Dacron) batting, or cotton for a softer seating surface. Dacron-wrapped foam is the least expensive option, but it will have a limited lifespan.
Spring down combines the softness of down, the structure of foam and the resilience of springs. Coil springs are surrounded by high density foam edge supports, and then all is wrapped with down pads.
Some sofas have an extra pillow of foam sewn on top of the main cushion. This will cause the cushions to wrinkle a bit more, since the pillows are softening and the leather is stretching. Personally, I love the added comfort of the extra pillow, and the slight wrinkling of a soft leather makes it look like a well-worn, comfortable leather coat.
Sofa cushions will soften over time. Consequently, you might want to try one that has been on the sales floor for a while, as well as one that is relatively new, to get an idea how your couch might age. If a firm seat is a necessity, you might want to consider a sleeper, since the bed inside keeps the seat firmer by bypassing the couch’s sinuous spring system. Lastly the cushions should be removable to ease cleaning and repairs.
Overall, selecting the skeleton for your couch that fits your lifestyle will ensure that you get the maximum use and enjoyment out of your leather couch.
Glossary of Leather Terms Relating to Couches
Alligator-Grained Leather
Leathers of various types, such as calf, sheep, or side, embossed to resemble the grain of alligator hide.
Apron Leathers
Any one of several varieties of leather used in connection with textile machinery and blacksmith aprons. Comber and Gill Box apron leather is soft, mellow, tough leather, tanned from steer hide, heavily stuffed and boarded or otherwise softened. Rub Roll apron leather is a flexible but firm, dry, strong leather.
Bark Tanning
So-called because tannin extracted from the bark of various trees is usually used. (See also Vegetable Tanning.)
Beam
A convex wooden slab sloping downward from about waist height over which a hide is placed for trimming of excess flesh and ragged edges and scudding by hand.
Biff
To beat a salted hide that has been placed on a rack, in order to shake loose salt from the hair.
Bleaching
(1) The process of removing oxidized tannins and insoluble materials from the surface layers of leather, in order to prevent crackiness of the grain. Bleaching is performed by dipping the leather in a weak alkaline solution to render the tannin readily soluble, dipping in water, neutralizing in weak acid solution and washing. (2) The process of lightening the color of chrome leather by treating with synthetic tannins or precipitating white pigment in the surface of the leather.
Blushing
Dulling or mottling of the finish of the leather resulting from condensed moisture during the drying of the finish. Also referred to a lacquer bloom.
Boarded Leather
Leather on which a false or accentuated grain has been produced by folding the grain side and working the leather back and forth. Hand boarding is done with a curved cork board attached to the worker’s arm and rolled over the folded skin.
Boardy
Adjective applied to stiff, inflexible leather.
Brush Coloring
The application of dye-stuff to leather with a brush or swab, the leather being laid on a table. Also called table dyeing.
Buffing
(l.) Knife or Abrasive – Removing minor blemishes from the grain with a knife or abrasive. (See also Snuffed Top Grain.) (2.) Emery Wheel – Producing a velvet surface on leather, usually with an emery wheel. (3.) Buffing Leather – A light cut of the grain portion used for book bindings, pocketbooks, etc., but not for upholstery.
Bull Hides
Hides from bulls are characterized by thick and rough head, neck, and shoulders, and by coarse flanks. They are often poor in quality and heavy, ranging from 60 lb (27 kg) up.
Butcher Cuts
Damage to hides caused by improper removal from the animal; usually in the form of cuts or furrows on the flesh side.
Bycast
A shiny, easy care combination leather made from natural leather hides processed and bonded to a man-made surface covering and then coated with a thick layer of polyurethane
Calf Leather
Leather made from the skins of young cattle from a few days up to a few months old, the skins weighing up to 15 lbs ((6.8 kg). It is finer-grained, lighter in mass, and more supple than cowhide or kip leathers.
Chestnut Extract
A tanning material made from the wood of the domestic chestnut tree and used in tanning heavy leathers.
Corrected Grain
Portions of the grain surface lightly abraded with emery wheel or sandpaper, so as to lessen the effect of grain damage. (See Snuffed Grain.)
Full Aniline
100% pure natural leather.
Full Grain
The most natural leather, It has the original grain surface of the skin, without having been treated to remove imperfections.
Grain
The outer or hair side of a hide or skin. Also used as an adjective referring to that side.
Grained Leather
Any leather on which the original natural grain, through any method, process or manipulation, has been changed or altered.
Hand Buffs
A term used to describe upholstery leather of the same type as full top grain except that the surface of the hide is lightly snuffed or sandpapered all over. Such snuffing removes only the top of the hair follicles. Also known as Snuffed Top Grain, Corrected Top Grain, and Top Grain Snuffed.
Head
That portion of the hide from the snout to the flare into the shoulder.
Heavy Leather
A somewhat indefinite term, generally understood to include vegetable-tanned sole, belting, strap, and mechanical leathers made from un-split cattle hides. More recently it also refers to thick side leathers.
Imitation Leather
Fabric coated with rubber or synthetic resin and embossed, printed, or otherwise finished to resemble leather. Some imitation leathers may contain leather fibers or other protein fibers.
Kangaroo
Leather made from the hide of the Australian kangaroo, usually chrome-tanned and with a glazed finish. Resembles glazed kid but has a fine grain and is one of the strongest of all leathers.
Machine Buffs
That cut of the hide from which a buffing of approximately 1/64 in (0.4 mm) (1oz) in thickness has been removed from the grain. This should leave a portion of the grain on approximately the entire hide.
Mocha Leather
Leather from any variety of hair sheep. After the grain has been removed by a liming process known as frizing, the fine fibers below the grain are sueded.
Natural Markings
The subtle markings on leather are analogous to finger prints. They distinguish genuine leather from manmade materials. Other marks which can appear on the surface of leather are healed scratches and scars, barbed wire marks, stretch marks, vein marks, wrinkles, brands and insect holes.
Nubuck
Otherwise known as chaps, stonewashed or distressed leather, nubuck leather is actually aniline leather that has been brushed to give it a soft, velvety feel. The grain surface of the leather is broken open to make it softer and give it suede like appearance. The breaking up of the surface fibers of the leather also makes it extremely absorbent and sensitive to heat and moisture. Nubuck leather is by far the most difficult type of leather to keep clean and stain free, even more so than natural leather.
Nude Finish
A leather that is usually vat dyed, but has little or no protective coat.
Oiling Off
Coating the surface of wet leather with oil before allowing it to dry.
Oil Tannage
Tanning with cod oil or other oxidizable oil, usually of marine origin.
Pebbled Grain
An embossed-leather grain finish resembling a pebbled surface, ranging from fine pebbled Morocco goat to heavy scotch grain upper leather.
Pickle
To treat unhaired hides with a solution of salt and acid in order to prepare them for mineral tanning or for temporary preservation until they reach the tannery.
Pigment-finished Leather
Pigmentation treatments are predominantly used on hides that are blemished or flawed. The surface of the leather is polished to remove marks and imperfections, after which the leather is treated with a special opaque pigment. The pigmentation process improves color consistency and protects leather against fading and damage. Like semi aniline leather sofas, pigmented leather sofas are also easy to clean and durable. If you know that your sofa is going to be subjected to sticky hands and dirty paws, then it will definitely be worth your while to look at investing in a pigmented leather sofa.
Pit
A tiny depression or hole on the grain surface of leather, due to natural causes or manufacturing.
Pull Up Aniline
Full aniline leather that has been treated with a layer of wax and oil to cause the a unique coloring over time.
Russet
A term of varied meaning in the leather trade, since it connotes both color and tannage. (1) Russet calf is the natural color of unfinished calf leather resulting from tannage by vegetable extracts. (2) Russet harness is a completely finished leather of bright, clean, uniform color and finish. (3) Russet sheepskin is leather tanned in cold-leached hemlock bark and used for shoe linings, with color resulting from the hemlock. (4) Russet upholstery is leather tanned but not finished.
Salt Stain
Discoloration on the surface of hides and skins, developed during the curing process.
Semi-Aniline
A protected leather that is dyed with a special pigment and sealed with a thin finishing layer. Because the pigment is solid, this type of leather ensures color consistency along with stain and spill resistance.
Scotch Grain
A pebbled pattern embossed on cattle hide or calf leather.
Scudding
A process used to remove remnants of hair and hair sheaths, hair pigments, fat, and undesirable protein constituents, lime soaps, etc., from a skin when a very clean grain for both smoothness and level dyeing properties is required. A skin is usually scudded following unhairing, and, while it may be done following bating, it is always done before tanning. The process is carried out over the beam with a curved, blunt-edged knife or, more often today, in a machine which squeezes and pushes the unwanted material (scud) out of the skin.
Shell
A portion from the butt end of a horsehide, from which leather of tight, firm fiber structure and fine grain is made. (See also Cordovan.)
Slack Tannage
Incompletely tanned leather as evidenced by a raw or under-tanned streak in the central layer of a piece. (2) A light tannage that is deliberately less than usual.
Snuffed Top Grain
(Also, Top Grain Snuffed) – Portions of the grain surface lightly abraded with emery wheel or sandpaper so as to lessen the effect of grain damage. (See Corrected Grain.)
Split
A term used to describe the portion of hide or skin, split into two or more thicknesses, other than the grain or hair side. Splits are usually named according to their sequence of production, such as “main,” “second,” or “slab” split (in case of upholstery leather);or for the use in which they are to be put, such as “flexible” (for innersoles): “glove,” “waxed” (for cheap shoe-uppers); “bag and case” (finished with pyroxylin or pigment finish), sole, etc.
Splitting
(1) – Cutting leather into two or more layers. (See also Upholstery Leather.) (2) – Cutting a hide into two sides preparatory to tanning.
Spready Hide
A hide of large area in proportion to the weight.
Suede
Leather finished by buffing with an emery wheel to produce a napped surface. Suede is not as durable as top grain leather.
Table Dyeing
The application of dyestuff to leather with a brush by laying the leather on a table. Also known as Brush Coloring.
Top Grain
The first cut taken from the grain side of a split hide from which nothing except the hair and associated epidermis has been removed. Top grain leathers which contain imperfections are often treated by sanding down the top and adding an imitation grain to produce more processed material, such as nubuck.
Top Grain Snuffed
A term used to describe upholstery leather of the same type as full top grain except that the surface of the hide is lightly snuffed or sandpapered all over. Such snuffing removes only the top of the hair follicles. Also known as Hand Buffs, Corrected Top Grain, and Snuffed Top Grain.
Upholstery Leather
A general term for leathers used for furniture, airplanes, busses, and automobiles. The staple raw material in this country consists of spready cattle hides, split at least once and in many cases two or three times. The top grain cuts go into the higher grades, and the splits into the lower grades.
Vat Dyeing
The application of dyestuffs to leather by immersion of the leather in a vat containing the dyestuff solution.
Veiny
Appearance of leather characterized by many clearly visible blood vessels, either closed or cut open by buffing or shaving operations.
Water Repellency
The ability of a leather surface to resist wetting by liquid water.
Water Resistance
The ability of a leather to resist absorption and transmission of liquid water.
Waterproofness
Non-transmission of liquid water through the cross-section of the leather.
Wrinkle
A permanent crease or furrow on the grain surface of a hide or leather, incapable of removal by rolling or plating.
Leather Creations: Thousands of Choices and Great Prices
Leather Creations has created a business model which allows it to offer thousands of couches under one roof.
Their sales model is like buying a custom suit. You look through books and pick your model, then your type of fabric and then your color. Each Leather Creations store stocks a few examples of each model they offer, enabling you to test the couch and see how it feels. They also have a few examples of each type of leather, then you can look through their swatches and pick your color. After that, they custom make your perfect couch.
In about 6-8 weeks they deliver your custom creation. It’s a great way to furnish your place exactly like you want it. On top of the great selection and fantastic service, their prices are about 30% less than other stores with comparable quality. Lastly, their staff seems to be there not only to sell, but to educate about the process of how leather couches are made – from the cow to your living room. They also have loveseats and ottomans, but the couches are the stars.
Check out their site, http://www.leathercreationsfurniture.com. Better yet, if you live near one of their eight locations in Georgia, Alabama or Illinois, stop by. It’s worth it just for the education.
Overstock.com: Quality, Value and Style
I believe in quality, value and style, and the couches at Overstock.com score well on all counts. The Messina Torrel European-inspired Contemporary Sofabed ranks as one of my all-time favorite couches. The real leather upholstery complements the stylish and durable construction. The removable armrests take flexibility to new heights, allowing 3 people to sit comfortably, while still fitting into a relatively small space.
For larger areas, the Century Brown Leather Sectional and Ottoman offers a complete living room setup at a price I can live with. The classic American style will add comfort and grace to my home, and the eight-way hand tied construction makes this set very durable. With complete setup and delivery included in the price, this group represents value, high style and superior quality.
Welcome to Living Cool With Leather Couches
Welcome to the Living Cool with Leather Couches Blog. Please look here for deals and information on leather couches. In general it’s been my experience that you can find the best deals and best selections at the national chains, since they have access to the widest range of leathers and get the best choices, maximizing the chance that you what you see is what you will get. Also, since they are able to buy in large quantities, they can give you the best prices.
